President meets group who proposed referendum to define marriage

TBILISI, DFWatch–President Giorgi Margvelashvili will Tuesday meet the Georgians who proposed holding a referendum about defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Giorgi Abashishvili, head of the president’s administration, didn’t explain what the goal of the meeting is. But the three he will be meeting today are behind an initiative which is currently on the president’s table with a 30 day deadline for him to decide whether to approve or reject.

If he approves the bid, Georgians will almost certainly be able to vote over the following question: “Do you agree or disagree that marriage should be defined as a union of a man and a woman for the purpose of creating a family?”

Georgia’s Civil Code already contains such a specification, but the Constitution does not, and the purpose is to amend the Constitution.

The three who made the proposal are: Alexandre Bregadze, former Deputy Minister of Diaspora, Soso Manjavidze, former member of Alliance of Patriots Party, and Zviad Tomaradze, Director of the Demographic Society XXI.

With two hundred thousand signatures having been gathered, the Central Election Commission (CEC) last week gave its final approval, after which the proposal also requires permission from the president and the prime minister.

Abashishvili said the president will make a decision within the 30 day term specified by the Constitution. If he says yes, the prime minister’s assent is also required, but PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili has already made it clear that he backs a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.